A Bottle of Cheer
by alexandriaZ
Summary: Prentiss is house sitting for her mother on Christmas Day when she gets a visit from David Rossi and a bottle of holiday cheer.


Dave and Emily stood inside the elevator headed for the BAU; his eyes were bloodshot and the briefcase in his hand felt heavier than usual. Emily's head throbbed, as she ran her fingers through her hair. Coming away with bits of mistletoe. It was a small miracle that they made it back to her mother's house unscathed. Aside from the pounding headache.

'No more drinking,' she vowed. No, scratch that. 'No more drinking with Rossi.'

"Whoa, what happened to you two?"J.J asked, standing up from her desk.

"Christmas Day from hell." Emily deadpanned.

"What happened?"

Dave shrugged, "Things rarely go as planned."

_1 Day Earlier_

Dave pulled into the driveway of the Prentiss mansion; blustering wind burned his cheeks. He pulled his coat tighter as he rang the doorbell. Ambassador Prentiss was on assignment so, Emily volunteered to look after the place

Surveying the impressive landscape of the French country villa; he had to admit, there were worse places to spend the holidays. He heard footsteps and the door swung open.

Emily's jaw dropped in surprise."Rossi, I thought you were carolers!"

"Nope. Sorry to disappoint." He said, stepping inside.

She shook her head, "No disappointment. What are you doing here?"

He shrugged, "I know you're not in the Christmas spirit so, I brought you some." He held up the paper bag in his hand. "Ho ho ho and a bottle of Southern Comfort."

She raised an eyebrow skeptically,"I thought single malt was your drink of choice."

She frowned at the idea of Dave partaking in something that she considered out of his comfort zone. What he offered tasted like liquid candy. A far cry from his usual smoky scotch.

His eyes sparkled with mischief. "Are you complaining?"

She paused, weighing her options. They had a beautiful mansion all to themselves and plenty of time to enjoy it. What's the worst that could happen? "If it will get me drunk, I'm in." She moved toward the roaring fire, grabbing glasses off the sideboard.

_Two Hours Later_

"Take it off, Agent Rossi!" Emily said between cackles clutching her naked rib cage, "Let's see what those fraternization rules are all about!"

Christmas carols rang through the house, "Oh jingle- jingle bells, Jingle bells," she slurred, laying her cards on the table. She was at the point of drunkenness where everything was funny and her tongue knew no rules. An empty bottle sat between them on the living room coffee table.

He shook his head, "How about, no. I never agreed to strip poker, put your clothes back on." He thrust the sweater towards her, decidedly ignoring the way she brushed against him.

He cracked open another bottle and filled their glasses.

"Fine," she huffed, pulling her sweater on. "But, I'm not sitting in this house all night. Let's make this interesting."

He took another drink, the liquor was almost too sweet; perfect for Christmas festivities."That sounds promising. What exactly do you have in mind?"

She stood up and went towards the door, pulling on her coat from the coat rack. "Every year, we're bombarded by carolers. Little kids hum their way through Jingle Bells to please their parents."

"You can't be serious." He said, picking up her train of thought, "Let's go caroling."  
***

"Dashing through the snow, in a one horse open sleigh!" They sang, as they stumbled down the street. Oblivious to the snow blowing around them, the contents of the thermos was all the warmth they thought they needed.

"Who the hell says 'dashing' anymore? Dave asked choking on a laugh.

"You're the writer!"Emily shoved him toward a snow bank.

He slipped and struggled to keep his balance. "I'm taking you down with me!"

"Ow, God. You're an evil man, Rossi," she winced, her head was spinning from the impact.

"Don't start something you can't finish," he chided. Taking another drink.

"How can you still be drinking?" she moaned.

"Prentiss, I've been drinking longer than you have been alive."  
***

_Present Day_

"Wow, it sounds like you two had fun." J.J. said, shaking her head, while she poured two cups of coffee."How much did you drink?"

"When I woke up, I counted four empty bottles-" Dave said.

"How the hell did we get back?" Emily groaned.

J.J chuckled and walked back to her desk. "Remind me never to drink with you guys."


End file.
